Photograph of the exterior view of a portion of the bastion of the old town wall of Madras, taken by a photographer of the Archaeological Survey of India on 1st March 1902. Madras was established by the East India Company in 1639 as a trading post. In 1644 a small fort was erected and the city became the centre of the British presence in India. By 1690 the fort became a major city with 300,000 people. The European settlement remained inside the fort while the Black Town was outside the walls although in the 18th century many beautiful colonial houses with gardens started to be built outside the fort. Fort St George is situated north of the town on the seashore and was gradually transformed into a formidable structure. In 1694 the original Fort House was demolished to build a new one and in 1711 the inner Fort walls and corner bastions were pulled down to create Fort Square.